Rotary drum for storing radio-active objects

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for the storage of radio-active objects, such as, for example, radio-active needles or the like, comprising a cylindrical drum mounted for rotation about its axis within a cylindrical casing, a first plurality (m) of axially spaced tiers of radially directed cavities formed in said drum so as to join a second plurality (n) of radially spaced apart columns of cavities, an elongated opening formed in the casing, means for rotatably displacing the drum so as successively to bring successive cavity columns opposite said opening and a first plurality (m) of individual closure means associated with said opening and respectively adapted to close the cavities otherwise exposed by the opening.

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v lllu U Du Menachem et al.

ROTARY DRUM FOR STORINGE RADIO-ACTIVE OBJECTS Inventors: SurkesMenachem, Rishon-Lezion;

Ivan Kis, Tel-Aviv;-Rosental Nathan, Givataim, all of Israel The Stateof Israel, Atomic Energy Commission, Tel-Aviv, Israel Filed: June 24,1971 Appl. No.: 156,262

Assignee:

Foreign Application Priority Data Aug. 19, 1970 Israel 35130 ReferencesCited UNIT-ED STATES PATENTS 9/1902 Aylmer 62/381 7/1950 Strickland250/106 S 5/1957 Childers 62/381 10/1958 l-lolben 250/108 R Dial SafeSelects l-lot Samples Popular Science,

May 1956, page 157.

Primary Examiner.lames W. Lawrence Assistant ExaminerHarold A. DixonAttorney, Agent, or Firm-Arthur B. Colvin [5 7] ABSTRACT Apparatus forthe storage of radio-active objects, such as, for example, radio-activeneedles or the like, comprising a cylindrical drum mounted for rotationabout its axis within a cylindrical casing, a first plurality (m) ofaxially spaced tiers of radially directed cavities formed in said drumso as to join a second plurality (n) of radially spaced apart columns ofcavities, an elongated opening formed in the casing, means for rotatablydisplacing the drum so as successively to bring successive cavitycolumns opposite said opening and a first plurality (m) of individualclosure means associated with said opening and respectively adapted toclose the cavities otherwise exposed by the opening.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 2 2 I974 simlnrg Inue SuRwesMEN PATENTEUJAHZZISM sum 2 0? z Inventors S MENA 1 461 A Klg TAL. MA JAttorney This invention relates to apparatus for the storage of radioactive objects such as, for example, radio active needles or the like.

lt is a desideratum in the storage of radio active objects to achieve amaximumdegree of shielding with .respect to the radio active objectsstored together with a maximum degree of accessibility to the objects.This desideratum can generally be achieved only by using very bulky,space consuming equipment with complicated control mechanisms.

This in connection with the storage of radio active needles, forexample, in hospitals, it is often desired to store a substantialquantity of differing types of needles the total radiation of which isvery considerable and highly lethal. Hitherto the only method foreffectively storing such needles whilst providing effective shieldinginvolved the provisions of very bulky storage equip ment the space forwhich is not always readily available in hospitals. It must furthermorebe borne in mind that the operator must have ready access to anyindividual needle and when selecting a needle for withdrawal fromstorage he should not be exposed to radiation emanating from needles notto be selected.

It is an object of the present invention to provide apparatus for thestorage of radio active objects in which the above referred todesideratum is economically and readily achieved.

According to the present invention there is provided apparatus for thestorage of radio active objects comprising a cylindrical drum mountedfor rotation about its axis within a cylindrical casing, a firstplurality (m) of axially spaced tiers of radially directed cavitiesformed in said drum so asto join a second plurality (n) of radiallyspaced apart columns of cavities, an elongated opening formed in thecasing, means for rotatably displacing the drum so as successively tobring successive cavity columns opposite said opening and a firstplurality (m) of individual closure means associated with said openingand respectively adapted to close the cavities otherwise exposed by theopening.

Such apparatus, having m.n cavities, is capable of containing asubstantial number of radio active objects. On the other hand theoverwhelming bulk of these cavities are always completely shielded bythe cylindrical casing and so no danger arises from any radiationemerging from the objects contained therein. At any particular instantonly m cavities are exposed by the opening in the casing and even these,so-called exposed cavities, are individually shielded by the separateclosure means.

Each cavity and in consequence each object located in a particularcavity is identified by the particular tier and particular column whereit is located. In order therefore to have access to the object locatedin a particular cavity the drum is rotated so that the required columnis located opposite the opening whereupon the closure means associatedwith the particular opening is opened and the object can be withdrawn orreplaced as required.

Thus at any particular time the operator is, at the most, exposed onlyto the radiation emerging from the particular cavity uncovered by theassociated closure means. On the other hand, the apparatus is veryeconomical in terms of space and in terms of the effort to be expendedby the operator in' achieving access tothe particular cavity seeing thatthe operator can always remain opposite the fixed opening alldisplacement being effected by the drum.

In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention adisplacement of the drum is efcated will be located opposite the openingwhereuponthe closure means closing the cavity will be opened.

Alternatively, rotation of the drum can be effected manually as can theopening of each individual closure means.

For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how thesame may be carried out in practice, reference will now be made to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially sectioned perspective view of a storage apparatusin accordance with the invention,

FIG. la is a perspective view of a needle holder for use in theapparatus shown in FIG. 1,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1,

F IG. 3 is a longitudinally sectioned view of the apparatus shown inFIG. 2 taken along the lines III-III.

As seen in the drawings, the cylindrical casing 1 formed of lead with astainless steel outer coating has a cylindrical wall portion 2 and upperand lower circul'ar planar portions 3 and 4.'The lower planar portion 4is securely mounted on a concrete base 5.

Located within the casing land rotatable with respect thereto is acylindrical drum 6 which is also formed of lead. Passing through thedrum 6 and integral therewith is an elongated axle 7 which is rotatablyjournalled with respect to the upper and lower portions 3 and 4 of thecylindrical casing l by means of ball bearings 8 and 9, the latter beingrotatably journalled with respect to the base 5 by means of a ballbearing 10.

Formed in the drum 6 are ten superimposed tiers A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H,land J of radially directed cylindrical cavities each tier containingten equiangularly spaced cavities numbered (i) to (x). There are thusformed 10 columns of cavities each column containing lO individualcavities Each cavity can therefore be identified by the column and tierin which it is located thus cavity (IV)( E) is the cavity located incolumn (IV) and tier E.

Formed in the cylindrical wall 2 of the casing 1 is an elongatedaperture 11 which extends in an axial direction along the length of thecasing and is so dimensioned as to be capable of exposing successivecolumns of cavity apertures as the drum is rotated with respect to thecasing. Mounted on the cylindrical wall 2 of the casing l is a column often, superimposed shielding doors 12A, 12B, 12C to 12J respectivelyassociated with electromagnetic displacing means 13A to 13.] thearrangement being that the column of doors 12 fills the elongatedaperture 11 and thereby seals the exposed cavity column. I

An electric drive motor 14 is coupled via drive gears 15 to the base ofthe drum 6 so as to rotate the drum with respect to the casing 2.

A control panel 16 is mounted on the base 5 and is provided with anactuating switch 17 which controls the flow of actuating current to thedrive motor 14 and a second actuating switch 18 which controls the flowof actuating current to the electro-magnetic means 13. A first selectordial 19 can be set to any one of the ten columns of cavities and when soset and when the switch 17 is turned on the motor rotates the drum sothat the particular column selected is disposed opposite the elongatedaperture 1 1. A second selector switch 20 can be set to any of thecavity tiers A to J and when so set and when the switch 18 is turned onafter the required cavity column has been located in front of theelongated aperture the appropriate door closing the selected cavityswings open.

As seen in detail in FIG. 1a of the drawings the radio active needle tobe stored (not shown) is located in a recess 21 formed in a cylindricallead slug 22 the slug as a whole being inserted in the appropriatecavity in the drum with the recess 21 located in an innermost position.

In use the radio active needles located in the differing cavities can beidentified by the particular identification of the cavity. Thus a listcan be provided whereby an operator can readily identify any particularradio active needle as being located in a cavity identified by aparticular tier and column identification symbol. Thus if it is desiredto have access to a particular needle all that is required isthat itscavity identification symbols be determined whereupon the selector dials19 and 20'are appropriately set, the switches 17 and 18 are turned onand the drum is automatically rotated by the drive motor so that theappropriate column is located opposite the elongated aperture 11 and theappropriate door 12 swings open. The required needle is then removedtogether with its slug and the opened door is then manually closedwhereupon it can be arranged that the drum returns to an initialposition.

It will be realised that with apparatus of the kind just described, aconsiderable number of radio objects, in the present case radio activeneedles, can be stored in a compact space and that ready access can behad at all times to any particular object. Furthermore, the operator isat no time exposed to radiation other than possibly a certain minimalamount of radiation which may excape through the opened cavity fromwhich the object is to be withdrawn.

Whilst the arrangements specifically described above automatic selectionmeans have been described for displacing the drum and the closure meansso as to provide immediate access to the required cavity and the radioactive object lodged therein it will be readily appreciated that boththe rotation of the drum and the opening and closing of the closuremeans can be effected manually.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for storing radioactive objects comprismg:

a. a cylindrical lead drum coaxially mounted inside a cylindrical casingfor rotation about the common axis of the drum and casing;

b. the casing having an axially directed slot exposing the drum;

c. the drum containing m X n radially directed cylindrical cavitiesarranged in m axially spaced tiers and n radially spaced-apart columns;

d. means for rotating the drum to selected angular positions forbringing respective ones of the cavities into alignment with the slot inthe casing; and

e. a plurality of axially spaced individual closure members on thecasing adjacent the slot aligned with the m axially spaced tiers forclosing the slot, but individually openable to provide an access to thedrum aligned with a selected one of the tiers.

closure.

1. Apparatus for storing radioactive objects comprising: a. acylindrical lead drum coaxially mounted inside a cylindrical casing forrotation about the common axis of the drum and casing; b. the casinghaving an axially directed slot exposing the drum; c. the drumcontaining m X n radially directed cylindrical cavities arranged in maxially spaced tiers and n radially spaced-apart columns; d. means forrotating the drum to selected angular positions for bringing respectiveones of the cavities into alignment with the slot in the casing; and e.a plurality of axially spaced individual closure members on the casingadjacent the slot aligned with the m axially spaced tiers for closingthe slot, but individually openable to provide an access to the drumaligned with a selected one of the tiers.
 2. Apparatus according toclaim 1 including settable selector means for identifying the cavity ofinterest, and a drive motor responsive to the setting of the selectormeans for rotating the drum until the cavity of interest is aligned withthe slot.
 3. AppaRatus according to claim 2 including a further settableselector means for specifying the closure to be opened, and anelectromagnetic closure operator associated with each closure andresponsive to the setting of the further selector means for opening thespecified closure.